Sound poems

I was astounded to learn that people in different countries describe the sounds that animals make differently. For example, in the U.S. they describe the sound a rooster makes as "cock-a-doodle-do." However, some Europeans describe the sound as "coo-coo-ri-coo. "Here in Sri Lanka it's Kukku coo coo".

You try to describe a sound you hear everyday-the sound of the wind, the rain, the dishwasher, a train ("choo choo" is one way to describe the sound) - and then have them write a poem incorporating the sound.

Here's a poem about rain:
Drip drop drip drop, drip drop,
Darned rain won't stop.
Dropping on my windowpane
It is driving me insane.
Here's a short poem someone wrote while he was sitting on a bench near the rail road tracks.
Choo Choo Chuga-Chuga,
Chuga-Chuga, Chuga-Chuga,
Chuga-Chuga, Chug. Choo Choo!
When I hear a Choo Choo train
I think of all the many things that I should do.
As you can see, your poems should describe the sounds and also where the sounds "take" them.
For example:
- What the sound calls to mind?
- How they feel when they hear the sound?
- What the sound seems to be "saying"?
This calls to mind an old jingle for Alka Seltzer that goes like this:
Plop plop,
Fizz fizz,
Oh, what a relief it is!

Wouldn't it be fun for you to try writing something like that?
Sound poems written by kids are often fun to read. However, rhythm can be a problem. As you can see, I got the rhythm for the two sound poems above from the sounds themselves. Younger elementary students will probably find it a lot easier to get started writing a sound poem if they follow the rhythm and rhyme pattern of the poem below:

Tick tock, goes the clock. (A)
Bow wow says the dog. (B)
Quack quack says the duck. (C)
Croak croak says the frog. (B)

This poem has a very simple rhythm and rhyme scheme that most lower-grade elementary-schoolchildren should be able to follow:

DUM DUM, da da DUM (A)
DUM DUM, da da DUM (B)
DUM DUM, da da DUM (C)
DUM DUM, da da DUM (B)

I'd suggest starting with this exercise and then seeing what other rhythm and rhyme patterns pop into you head.

Mr. Vibes
 

Busy Streets of New York

Up on a high-riser, humming a tune from home
Her feet touch the dirty carpet just vacuumed.
Blow-dried hair in a braid in a night gown
A lamp on low She looks
Looks out of her window
People flood the busy streets of New York.
Chains of traffic in slow motion.
Trees dot the forest, concrete
Beginning to shed, unclothing their skeletons.
The grass losing its green
The hot heavy winds brushing the drying blades
The emptying heart sinks
Sinks under the covers.
Up on a high-riser, listening to the blues
She looks out of the window
People flood the busy streets of New York.
The naked trees stand; ashamed.
The clouds have no lining
Or the air its warmth.
The frozen grass
Teasingly stabs
Stabs the frozen heart.
Up on a high-riser, strumming her Guitar
She looks out of the window
People flood the busy streets of New York.
The trees bloom fragrantly
The blades of grass finally begin to breathe
But no, the heavy feet trample.
The blazing sun burns the earth
A silent cry escapes-
Escapes the bleeding heart.
The night falls; the stars dull.
The dawn breaks another day to tread.
The seasons pass and holidays come and go.
She looks out of the window.
People flood the busy streets of New York.
Life takes shape in all its glory.
But one reflection
One memory
One truth
One heart
A wasted and broken heart
One dead heart

- Tharanga Goonetilleke,
Julliard Opera Centre, New York
 

Floating kite

It's been two years since we first met
You came to my life wiping away tears
You were the sun and you were the moon
Of my bored darkened world
I had forgotten all my hopes
When you filled me with them
I had given up pursuing dreams
And you reminded me of my dreams
The same X-mas season
Filled with joy and happiness
Free soul like a floating kite
O' God how happy I was!
You placed me on a cloud
And took me to the top of world
How am I suppose to know after all
That you are not mine as I thought
The kite has broken the thread by now
And doesn't know where to float
Coz you are not there to guide me through
In this cold and dark world
I still love you truly and deeply
That I can't believe you are not mine
You are miles apart at this moment
But your memories are safe in my heart
The cold breeze and the joyful season
Reminds me of you every second
And it hurts to feel you are not here
Still I'll always love you the same

Kalani
 

Sunshine on a rainy day

You make me smile every night & day
You make me happy with every thing you say
You make me strong in every possible way
You make me love you every second of day

You say you need me every single day
You say you think of me every night & day
You say you love me in every way
You say you will protect me all the way

You are my ray of light when sky is grey
You are my rainbow on a gloomy day
You are my smooth breeze that makes me sway
You are my sunshine on a rainy day

- Subhathma Hettiarachchi
Faculty of Medicine, Colombo
 

Blood is red

(A wounded terrorist girl has been relived, noticed by Army personnel)
So it was The red blood
Pouring down from her body
Same as mine.
Because my blood is red too
How do I aim my smoky riffle?
To whom grasped last breath
Even she was my foe.
Sometimes I would kill her If my blood is not red
And if it is not as thick blood as it is.
We shoot each other inhumane
Making unnecessary rivalries
As humans blind-folded
As blooded unreddened.

- Aruna Nilaweera,
Devinuwara